Has anyone ever held a large event, 1000+ people?

[tourismalgarve]

Hey,

I was wondering has anyone ever held a large event with 1000+ people? Outdoor would be a big plus.

If you have can you maybe tell me:

What the event was for?
What went wrong? (or almost went wrong)
What were the costs (any unexpected?)?

I ask because i maybe have an idea for a little side business in my spare time if i manage to get my other idea off the ground.

Thanks

 

[Dnallov]

Yes many times: -

1. Mainly weddings for events that size
2. Everything went wrong! Get your catering sorted!
3. You need to be specific

Give me a bit more information to work on as I used to own a large hotel in Scotland, and would hold large events of this size and believe I may be able to help you!

 

[tourismalgarve]

Hello,

The type of event i was planning was a music event, 1000 people, 1 DJ and 1 giant dance floor in a giant outdoor tent.

I wont need food although maybe a small snack van, but there would be a requirement of security personnel.

How long do these events take to plan?

 

[Dnallov]

Well, first off, I would advice more than just a snack van, people WILL get hungry & thirsty, and there'll pay for the food and drink!

If I was you I'll get a catering firm in, and split the profits

Second is space (have you organized where the function will be held?), 1000 people requires a lot of space

Third is planning, planning and more planning which I will provide some tips
- Remember everything that can go wrong will most properly go wrong. Plan to have a back up for everything. For music events I held at the hotel, I always had two bands, both required there own equipment, which they had to provide a week prior to the event. That way if one band didn't turn up, it didn't matter, if one sound equipment didn't work, it didn't matter.
- Weather! Contact the weather centre every day before the event is even organized! The weather centre can provide rough details of what the weather will be up to 3 months away!

I hope that’s a bit of help, I can’t express how much you have to plan events this size, it could go brilliantly, with only one or two hic ups (you have to expect a couple hic cups unfortunately!), or without the right planning it could be a disaster!

 

[Sparky331]

You might find some useful information in the fire safety guide for outdoor events. There's a lot to consider!!

Have a look at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/firesafetyassessment
The guide is available free to download.

Bob

 

[tourismalgarve]

Thanks, appreciated.

 

[redlion]

sound a great thing. maybe you should work with your partner. make a plan.

 

[Peter Bowen]

I used to have a sound business and often did sound for music events of up to 10 000 people.

There are a million things that can go wrong. This kind of stuff is not for the faint hearted and certainly not a quick and easy way to earn some money on the side.

These are some of the mistakes I saw experienced event organizers make:

• Forgot to arrange a key and an electrician to open the electricity supply point for an event in a marquee.
• Insufficient crowd control resulting in young kids being squashed against the base of the stage and a near riot when we pulled the plug to try and get them out.
• One beer stand on a hot summer's day
• No thought to parking
• No opening act for the headlined band
• Insufficient advertising - you've got the event and a handful of patrons
• No thought to the crowd management in the immediate neighbourhood - noise, behaviour etc

I could go on but I think that the point is clear. I'd recommend getting some good advice and perhaps the help of an experienced person before doing this - it looks easy but so does a liver transplant!

 

[torby]

Clearance from local council, health and safety, insurance, rubbish collection, noise pollution...the list is endless....and the list of risks is even longer...lol

 

[simonr]

Done a few 10k gigs. What can go wrong? Anything. What will go wrong? Everything. For a gig this size get the professionals in. In any case if you don't you'll have the devil of a job getting insured. Let the professionals you hire worry about that instead!

The one thing that everyone seems to forget is communications. Mobile phones won't cut it so you're far, far better off hiring radio comms gear. Headsets for preference, if you can manage to do that without looking like a ******. Again, better off getting the pros in!

How big are you thinking and what sort of event do you have in mind? The devil is in the detail....

S

 

[AHAEvents]

I organise events on a much larger scale - around 30,000 people.

What the event was for? RNAS Yeovilton Air Day 2000 - to date
What went wrong? To start with just about everything. Poor planning etc. On the week before the show we were working until 2am! We now have it down to a fine art with very little late nights - and our staffing numbers have dropped from 8 to 3!!
What were the costs (any unexpected?)? Around £500k, there is always unexpected expenses.

I think it can take as long to organise as you want. You could do it in a week if you wanted to, but the more thought and planning you put into it the smoother it should run. It takes us a year to organise one air show.

You will need to look at traffic management. Will roads need to be shut or diversions put in place? Can the roads handle the extra traffic?

Keep the local residents on your side, talk to them, let them know what your planning.

Toilets - you can never have enough! Make sure they're serviced by the contractor on a regular basis.

Get a sponsor, even if its only a couple of grand, it cuts your costs.

 

[Ashley_Price]

I would definitely suggest you look to getting a proper organiser to do this for you! They have all the headaches, you get all the praise.

 

[citypad]

dont forget the pel, alcohol license's and ant others you might need and also you probably need public liability insurance.

 

[tourismalgarve]

Hmm,

But i thought about running this to maybe make some £££, if i hire a company to manage the whole thing, why wouldnt they just run them themselves and make the money!?